The James: Self Study Workbook by Abby Banks is a fabulous resource for young adults and teens who want to dig deeper into the word and better understand the Bible, book by book. This is a complete, inductive study of the book of James. To complete the study, you need the workbook, the text of James (this study uses the ESV translation, but you could use whichever you prefer), and colored pens or pencils. The workbook includes daily schedules, projects, summaries, and tips for marking your Bible to support your study. This 9-week study includes daily assignments that focus on observation, interpretation, and application. It also offers several different project options throughout the study. The 5-day schedule even qualifies for one-quarter of high school credit! The James: Self Study Workbook is available to purchase on Amazon for $30.

My 10-year-old son and I recently worked through the James: Self Study Workbook. My son spent time in his room each weekday, quietly studying his Bible and working through thought-provoking assignments that encouraged him to think deeper. The workbook includes two options for daily schedules. The first is designed for grades nine through twelve and follows a five-day program. The other is more appropriate for grades five through eight and follows a four-day schedule. Because my son is in the fifth grade, we chose the shorter, four-day schedule. On the first day of this workbook, we read the entire book of James together. From there on, he worked on this study entirely independently. Each lesson took about 30-40 minutes and focused on a different piece of the book of James by answering the questions "what does the text say?", "what does the text mean?" and "how should this change me?". 

My daughters and I do many Bible studies together- but my son is much more independent and prefers quiet, reflective time on his own when studying the word. So I was pleased with how this workbook was clear and straightforward enough to allow him to move through it entirely independently. He enjoyed spending time on this inductive study and felt like it truly helped him understand what he was reading in the Bible. Sometimes it can be challenging to understand scripture, especially at a young age. This study assisted my son not only in understanding the words but reflecting on what they meant to him.

The James: Self-Study workbook is an excellent choice for students who enjoy quiet, reflective time independently studying. My son enjoys independently reading, writing, and contemplating big questions- so this was a perfect fit for his learning style! We were able to scale this workbook to fit my son's comprehension level, as some of it was a little bit advanced for him, but I would highly recommend it for upper middle school through high school grades. Overall, this is a well-done, detailed study, and we will be ordering the next one! 

-Product review by Danielle Lenz, The Old Schoolhouse®, February 2022